American Idol- Top 8 Guys Performances

What an exciting night of American Idol! It’s not that the performances were spectacular; in fact, most of them did not rise above the “good” rating. What’s interesting is that the two contestants who were set to make the final semi-final elimination night fairly predictable gave two of the best performances of the night. And while I agree that this should not be solely a what have you done for me lately competition, it certainly makes me rethink what Tim Urban and Todrick Hall are capable of doing on the show. I can’t believe I’m thinking about Tim Urban in such a positive way! What made this such a memorable night was also the worst performance of the night. In fact let’s start the recap with the once untouchable Andrew Garcia.


Andrew Garcia- Genie In A Bottle: We have a great American Idol tragedy in the making. A great, early front runner is in position to coast into the top 12 and beyond until the judges unfairly criticize him week after week because he can’t duplicate one of the finest performances ever in the 9 seasons of American Idol. At first, the comparison to Straight Up was only annoying. I didn’t think it would have any lasting effect on Andrew. Since then, the constant comparison has led Andrew on a quest to find another “moment”. It all culminated with tonight’s train wreck. To say Andrew was trying too hard is an understatement. Simon is quick to take all the credit for Tim Urban’s turnaround, but he’s even more responsible for Andrew’s collapse. I’m hoping there are a few more chapters to Andrew Garcia’s American Idol story. Grade: D

Tim Urban- Hallelujah: What we have on paper is the worst vocalist so far tackling the signature song of a singer who is regarded as having one of the most beautiful voices of the last 20 years. This had disaster written all over it, yet Tim Urban turned it into my favorite song of the night. What worked best about his version is he did not try to go beyong his vocal range the way he did with “Apologize”. If Tim wasn’t voted off the alst two weeks, then he should definitely not be sent home after tonight. Grade: A-

And now the rest:

Lee Dewyze- Fireflies: I’m just not on the Lee wagon yet. I think it’s because I hate Nickelback and I can picture Lee singing “How You Remind Me” any week now. However, I can easily picture him on the radio and he did sound pretty ok tonight. Grade: B

Alex Lambert- Trouble: Tonight reminded me how underappreciated Taylor Hicks is. Alex sounded almost as good as Taylor but with absolutely no spark to the performance. He needs to develop a lot more stage presence to make it as far as his vocal skills suggests he can go. Grade: B

Casey James- You’ll Think Of Me: I’m starting to think Casey James has reached his potential on the show. It was a good song choice, decent performance, but I just don’t think Casey James has the vocal chops to take it to another level. Grade: B

Aaron Kelly- I’m Already There: The song started as an F performance but luckily finished with a C grade. Congrats Aaron! What separates the men from the boys is how they sing the quiet moments. Tonight, Aaron failed miserably in that area. Grade: C

Todrick Hall- Somebody To Love: Easily his best performance so far. Queen was a logical choice for someone who has a background in theater. It’s easy to envision that Todrick’s biggest hurdle, if he survives, is preventing every song come off as a broadway production. But for tonight, it worked because it’s refreshing to see Todrick indeed has some talent. Grade: B+

Michael Lynche- This Woman’s Work: The falsetto was a bold choice. Nicely done. Overall, I thought this was a very good production that was slightly over-praised. When I hear a good performance by the lone representative of that genre(like how Amanda Overmyer was “the rocker” of season 7), I ask myself “Would another ______ singer do this song just as well?” The way I see it, Michael did this song better than most soul singers but I’m not sure if he took it to another level that another very good soul singer couldn’t have done. Normally I would not be so negative about a very good performance, but when Kara is in tears at the end I feel like there needs to be a reality check. Grade: A-

Who Will Go Home?

I really have no idea who is going home tomorrow. I think the only guys who are safe are Lee, Michael, and possibly Alex. Tim and Todrick are possibilities based on the first two rounds of semi-finals, but tonight made it a lot tougher to easily dismiss them. Aaron Kelly is in the same boat as Katie Stevens. He’s never been laughably bad, but he hasn’t been that good either. I think the cute factor gets him a ticker to the top 12. Casey James has also been lukewarm, so I think he might be in a little trouble as well. And then there’s Andrew. Based on the last two weeks, Andrew has been the worst. Can he really go home this early? I still can’t picture him missing the top 12, but tonight was awful. Tomorrow is going to be very interesting, but I think Todrick and in a surprising move Casey will miss the top 12. The fact that I gave both these guys a B and a B+ this weeks shows I'm completely stumped!

Who do you think will go home?